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Filing a claim for professional malpractice

There is a wide range of situations where individuals in the Bay Area may need to seek assistance from an expert. Whether it is a medical, financial, legal or another professional, much of these professions require advanced degrees and licensing. Additionally, they are controlled by professional standards. This means that the professional has a duty to meet the standards outlined by their profession and provide high quality work. Thus, if an individual experiences harms or damages due to a professional not meeting these standards, it may be possible to take action for professional malpractice.

What is professional malpractice?

In simple terms, professional malpractice occurs when an individual hires a professional to perform the duties of his or her profession; however, the professional fails to perform his or her job with the highest professional standards. For example, a doctor did not properly treat a patient or an accountant failed to file a client’s taxes on time. In these matters, a patient or client could file a professional malpractice attorney on the basis that they failed to perform their professional duties.

Basis for professional malpractice

A term to know in these matters is standard of care. This refers to the quality of professionalism with which the professional must act. For example, how a doctor or lawyer must act in accordance to the standard of care set by the profession. In some cases, ethics and professional responsibility may play a role in a patient or client believing that professional malpractice occurred.

Another important term to note in these matters is negligence. This refers to the professional failing to perform up to the standard of care, resulting in injuries or harms to the patient or client. When filing such an action, this claim is typically sent to the professional’s insurance company, asserting that damages be paid to them for the losses or injuries caused by the malpractice committed by the professional in question.

While professionalism may be subjective, the standards set for a profession are objective. Thus, if an individual has experienced harms and damages due to a doctor, lawyer, accountant or any other professional failing to meet these standards, it is possible to take action. A professional malpractice suit could help establish this and help calculate the damages suffered as a result.

 

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